College Accreditation Explained: How to Check a School in Five Minutes
Accreditation is the closest thing U.S. higher education has to a quality license. Checking it takes minutes, and skipping it can cost years.
In the United States, the federal government doesn’t run colleges or approve their degrees. Instead, private accrediting agencies review schools against published standards, and the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) decide which of those agencies to recognize. Accreditation affects almost everything that follows: whether you can get federal financial aid, whether your credits transfer and whether employers take your degree seriously.
Two kinds of accreditation
| Type | What it covers | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Institutional | The whole college or university | Higher Learning Commission, Middle States Commission on Higher Education, SACSCOC |
| Programmatic | A specific program or school within a college | ABET (engineering), AACSB (business), CCNE and ACEN (nursing), CAEP (teacher preparation), ABA (law) |
For many careers, programmatic accreditation matters as much as institutional accreditation. Some state licensing boards, for example, require graduation from an accredited nursing or law program.
“Regional” versus “national”: an outdated split
You’ll still see schools advertise “regional accreditation.” Historically, seven accreditors each covered a group of states, and many people treated them as the gold standard. Under federal rules that took effect on July 1, 2020, the Department of Education no longer distinguishes between regional and national accreditors; it recognizes institutional and programmatic accreditors.
In practice, the old labels still echo in some colleges’ transfer policies, so if you might transfer later, ask the schools you’d transfer to how they treat credits from the school you’re considering. See how transfer credits work.
How to check, step by step
- Search the Department of Education’s database. Its Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (DAPIP) lists schools accredited by recognized agencies.
- Search CHEA’s database as a second source.
- Go to the accreditor’s own website and look the school up there. Accreditors post their member institutions and any public actions, such as probation.
- Check programmatic accreditation for fields like nursing, engineering, business, teaching and law.
- Make sure the accreditor itself is recognized. An accreditor that isn’t on the Department of Education’s or CHEA’s list may be an “accreditation mill”; see how to spot a diploma mill.
Adviser’s tip: Look the school up by its exact legal name and location. Some schools have branch campuses or similar names, and accreditation covers specific institutions.
What accreditation doesn’t tell you
Accreditation sets a floor, not a ranking. Two accredited schools can have very different graduation rates, costs and graduate earnings. Once you’ve confirmed accreditation, use the College Scorecard to compare outcomes.
In brief
- Accreditation is an independent review of a school’s quality, done by agencies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or CHEA.
- Federal student aid is only available at schools accredited by a recognized agency.
- Since 2020, federal rules have treated former regional and national accreditors the same, as institutional accreditors.
- Check the school in the Department of Education’s database, then on the accreditor’s own website.
Readers ask
Is a school with no accreditation always a scam?
Not always. Some new schools are working toward accreditation, and some training providers never seek it. But credits and degrees from unaccredited schools are often not accepted by other colleges or employers, and students there can’t use federal aid.
What does candidate status mean?
Some accreditors grant candidate or pre-accreditation status to schools working toward full accreditation. Ask what happens to your credits if full accreditation is never granted.
Does accreditation tell me a program is good?
It tells you a school meets baseline standards. For quality and value, look at graduation rates, earnings and debt as well.
Admission rules, accreditation status and licensing requirements change. This guide is general information for students in the U.S.; confirm the details with the school, its accreditor or your state licensing board before you enroll.